Has it really been 10 years since the Bertuzzi-Moore incident?

NHL Snapshots

Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks talks to the media prior to start of the the Canuck's NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at General Motors Place on March 10, 2004 in Vancouver, Canada. (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Ten years since Todd Bertuzzi, then with the Vancouver Canucks, sucker-punched Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche, breaking Moore’s neck and ending his career?

It was retribution for Moore’s hit on Canucks captain Markus Naslund, a questionable hit that left Naslund bloodied and concussed.

Bertuzzi’s attack was an evening of accounts -- “We play them two more times, so ...” Bertuzzi said after Moore’s hit on Naslund and the unspoken words hung in the air -- but this thing, a decade later, is still far from being resolved.

Moore struggled with the effects of the attack and held out hope he could return to his NHL career before giving up that dream in 2009. In an interview with Sportsnet towards the end of 2013, Moore said: “It’s certainly a very difficult injury to deal with.”

Bertuzzi was suspended -- he gave up about $500,000 in salary -- but continued his career. By season's end, the Detroit Red Wings forward will have earned almost $30 million since 2003-04.

Moore filed a lawsuit against Bertuzzi and then-Canucks ownership group. After numerous delays and postponements, the trial is set to begin Sept. 8. Moore is seeking $38 million in damages.

Ten years.

Ten years and counting.

An evening of accounts that, given everything everybody has been through, will never be evened.

HEAR AND THERE: The weakness of the Canadian dollar could see the NHL salary cap -- projected at the NHL board of governors meetings in December to be around $71 million -- come in closer to $68 million, L.A. Kings GM Dean Lombardi told reporters. The way things are going, that’s a third-line forward for cap teams ... Talking to some people around the league, the fact Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler was in play and of great interest to teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks, caused things to be backed up at the trade deadline. When the Canucks decided they weren’t going to deal him -- one source said it was about 2:45 p.m. ET when he found out -- it left little time to go to Plan B. The Penguins managed to do it, as did the Wings, but the Ducks were apparently left dangling ... President Obama is making good on his beer bet with PM Stephen Harper on the outcomes of the Canada vs. USA men’s and women’s hockey games in Sochi. The USA’s National Security Council tweeted Friday two cases of beer would be delivered to the Canadian embassy in Washington Monday. It will be one case of Honey Porter and one case of Honey Blonde, both made with honey from the White House garden.

THE BUZZ: Interesting to see the early returns for teams that could be be billed as the buyers at the trade deadline. It’s subjective in terms of what you would consider a significant move, but among the teams I considered to have made a notable acquisition, their records since Wednesday's trade deadline -- heading into Friday's schedule -- were a combined 2-8. The only teams to win their first games out after making a “big” deal were the Los Angeles Kings (Marian Gaborik) and the Montreal Canadiens (and the Habs didn’t even have their guy, Thomas Vanek, when they went out and beat the Anaheim Ducks). The Canadiens lost their first game with Vanek in the lineup against Phoenix Thursday night. The Washington Capitals (picked up F Dustin Penner and G Jaroslav Halak) were 0-2. The Tampa Lightning (Ryan Callahan), New York Rangers (Martin St. Louis), Pittsburgh Penguins (Marcel Goc and Lee Stempniak), Ottawa Senators (Ales Hemsky) and the Detroit Red Wings (David Legwand) all lost their first game after the deadline ... Gaborik, by the way, played on a line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams in his first game with the Kings. He played 16:38, had three shots, two blocked shots and was minus-1.

JUST SAYING: One of the reasons the Ottawa Senators find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs is not finding a winger to click with captain Jason Spezza. They brought in Ales Hemsky at the deadline and he played with Spezza in their loss against Calgary Wednesday night. Can Hemsky be the answer? Spezza is a tablesetter, but Hemsky is hardly a finisher. He’s averaged just two shots a game in his career (1.96, actually). Only 29.7 percent of Hemsky’s 477 NHL points are goals, so he is certainly a pass-first guy. Spezza has a slightly higher ratio of goals to assists with 36.5 percent of his 668 career points being goals. Stranger things have happened, but they don’t seem to be a match.

JUST WONDERING: How weird is this stat? The Canadiens are second in the Atlantic Division, but they have the second fewest wins (nine) against division foes among Atlantic Division teams. Only the last-place Buffalo Sabres have fewer (seven). Hmmm. And this is the first year for intra-division playoffs? The St. Louis Blues of the Western Conference (10-1-2) have more wins against Atlantic Division teams than the Habs.

THE LAST WORD: The trade deadline came and went and Martin Brodeur is still a New Jersey Devil, even though it seemed the chances of arguably the best goaltender of all time being moved were slim. How did Brodeur’s teammates react to him staying put? “They’re mad,” Brodeur told the New Jersey Star-Ledger. “They can’t get their signed sticks yet. Guys were eyeing up my blockers, too.”

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There wasn't much left of Daniel Briere's voice. The veteran Montreal Canadiens forward had been turned into a cheerleader, sitting on the Canadiens bench for most of the third period of their Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins, cooling his heels despite having set up the crucial first goal two minutes into the game.